Jekyll/Hyde Quotes - Chapters 1-9

Q: Hyde - Chapter 1

Enfield describes Hyde, saying: "He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.”

Q: Hyde - Chapter 2

When Utterson meets Hyde, he says: “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh; and the next moment, with extraordinary quickness, he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house.”

Q: Hyde - Chapter 9

Lanyon recalls: “There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature” .

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Hyde - Chapter 1

Enfield describes Hyde, saying: "He is not easy to describe. There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something down-right detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why.”

Analysis - ambiguity

This shows us that he is an unidentifiable character that does not blend in with the rest of society.
Hyde is deliberately described as vague and ambiguous to make the reader anxious about who this character actually is.

Analysis - fear

The idea that Hyde evokes fear in the other characters, but there is a non-specific reason for this, builds tension for the reader, and also leaves the reader to paint an image of Hyde that aligns to their own personal fears.
Hyde poses as a mechanism to revive the inner terrors and sins that exist within us.

Hyde - Chapter 2

When Utterson meets Hyde, he says: “The other snarled aloud into a savage laugh; and the next moment, with extraordinary quickness, he had unlocked the door and disappeared into the house.”

Significance

Utterson is the narrator - the reader views the events of his investigation through his perspective. This is the first time we hear a description of Hyde from this well-trusted character.

Savage

Hyde is described as a “savage” character that we cannot describe - the adjective “savage” implies he is a degenerate without morals, and he also moves like an animal would.

Snarled

The verb “snarled” is usually applied to animals, and has a sinister undertone.

Sibilance

The sibilance in this quotation also suggests that there is a sinister aspect to Hyde’s character.

Context

This connotes to the context of Darwinism, and the idea that humans could possibly degenerate into the inner savage if the veneer of society were removed.

Hyde - Chapter 9

Lanyon recalls: “There was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature”.

Abnormal

Hyde is described as “abnormal” which differentiates him from the other well-respected gentlemen in the novella.

Creature

Hyde is frequently referred to as a “creature” rather than a human and this evokes animalistic imagery.
We get the impression that Hyde is a pre-human troglodyte (caveman) that exists without civilisation and the laws and morals that dictate the civilised being.